Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams – Crooked Con Special

Episode: "What's the Future of Organizing? + Ken Martin with Vote Save America’s Shaniqua McClendon"
Date: November 27, 2025

Episode Overview

This special episode of Assembly Required features two live-recorded Crooked Con panels centered on the future of organizing in American politics. Host Stacey Abrams and moderator Shaniqua McClendon (Vote Save America) guide two major discussions:

1. A panel of progressive organizers discussing how to engage low-information and disengaged voters, the evolution of tactics after recent elections, and the risks and rewards of innovative strategies.
2. An interview with Ken Martin (DNC Chair), exploring the state and future of the Democratic Party, messaging, and concrete steps for long-term infrastructure and engagement.

The conversations are candid, sometimes raw, and provide practical takeaways and inspiration for anyone invested in restoring and strengthening American democracy.

Panel 1: The Future of Organizing — Engaging Disconnected Voters

(Segment starts: 03:11)

Panelists

• Shaniqua McClendon (Moderator, Vote Save America)
• Kate Barr (Can’t Win Victory Fund)
• Melissa Morales (Somos Votantes/Somos PAC)
• Maurice Mitchell (Working Families Party)
• Ezra Levin (Indivisible)
• Deray McKesson (Pod Save the People, Campaign Zero)

1. The State of Organizing Post-2016

(03:11–04:00)

• Shaniqua reflects on the pivotal nature of Trump's elections in 2016 and 2024, the push for innovation after devastating losses, and how traditional approaches weren’t enough—but bright spots (e.g., Zoran Mamdani’s mayoral win) showcase new organizing energy.

2. Organizer Approaches and Breakthroughs

(Panelist Introductions and Insights: 07:14–16:44)

Kate Barr (Can’t Win Victory Fund)

(07:14–10:56)

• Ran as a protest candidate in a gerrymandered district, “declared my loss on the day I filed,” seeking to expose the personal impact of unfair maps.
• Saw increased D turnout, “one of only eight counties in North Carolina that got bluer.”
• Now recruits "candidates" to run out loud, communicate directly with voters about how rigged maps affect pocketbook and daily life issues.
• Focus on knocking doors and mobilizing in places other campaigns ignore.
• Key Quote:
  “The entire purpose of these campaigns is to take gerrymandering out of the space of something you write a poli sci thesis on, and help people understand how it affects the money in their pockets, the traffic on their way to work, who their kids' teachers are, what books their kids can read. Literally everything you care about is affected by how our voting maps are drawn.” (09:20)

Melissa Morales (Somos Votantes)

(11:12–16:13)

• Narrates the Latino voter “narrative crisis” of 2024 (“what happened with Latino voters?”).
• Emphasizes that economic experiences and anxiety, not ideology, drive turnout and opinions.
• Shares moving story of her father cashing a stimulus check—a vivid lesson in how economic insecurity shapes attitudes.
• Direct services model: distributing backpacks, groceries, gas cards—rebuilding trust “step by step.”
• Key Quote:
  “If our response is to then say, well, if then you voted for Trump, then you sold out for a check... then we're part of the problem still because it means we want to be right more than we want to reach people.” (13:59)

Maurice Mitchell (Working Families Party)

(16:44–24:33)

• Traces Democratic disengagement of working class voters to “stupid politics” of the 90s, with a rightward lurch away from labor.
• Advocates honest, bold populist politics (“crazy and strong” beats “status quo and weak”).
• Celebrates WFP’s recent electoral successes—defeating both major parties in municipal races, not just a “third party.”
• Warns against pundit framing victories as flukes or exceptional.
• Key Quote:
  “People... could see, like, yes, there’s a crazy party run by racists, but then there’s the status quo party and we’re told we only have two choices. So reasonably, many people just drop out...” (18:36)

Ezra Levin (Indivisible)

(24:44–29:28)

• Describes Indivisible’s origins—a viral Google Doc on anti-Trump organizing tactics post-2016.
• Champions local, “Tea Party-style” pressure—focus on opposition, stiffening Democratic spines.
• Highlights mass grassroots mobilization as key to progress and pushback against authoritarianism.
• Key Quote:
  “We saw how the broader Democratic establishment was responding, we were saying, okay, that’s fucked up, that’s not politically smart, and it’s gonna cause a lot of damage. So we wrote a Google Doc, as one does.” (25:18)

Deray McKesson (Campaign Zero, Pod Save the People)

(29:34–35:18)

• Focus on correcting public misconceptions in criminal justice (e.g., % in private prisons, gang laws).
• Makes policy personal: reframes debates to share “cognitive burden” and link the abstraction to real life.
• Advocates for storytelling that fosters empathy and action on policing and safety.
• Key Quote:
  “How do we fight people on the message every single time and sort of convert people and change what people think about things, one by one?” (34:39)

3. Trust-Building Beyond Electoral Politics

(Melissa Morales: 37:58–42:04)

• Emphasizes moving from transactional to relationship-driven organizing.
• Building community (“what’s the slice of good we can deliver... but also be strategic”).
• In-person events with direct support also build an organizing list and mutual trust, not just charity.

4. The Challenge and Necessity of Mass Mobilization

(Ezra & Deray: 43:11–47:11)

• Ezra: Trump regime targets effective organizers; “the number one thing an authoritarian regime fears is peaceful opposition.”
• Mantra: “Be brave, not stupid.”
  “If we were ineffective, they wouldn’t care. First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ... we’re one step from winning because they’re fighting us.” (44:28)
• Deray: Warns of strategic absence of Black voters, need for “keeping the base hot” post-victory, and protecting wins through ongoing engagement.
• Discusses Supreme Court case threatening protest leadership with undue liability.

5. The Reality and Risk of Being Effective

(Kate Barr announcement: 51:37–56:12)

• Shares personal and family cost of activism: “My daughter ... worries that I’m going to get shot the next day. If that’s happening to me, I don’t know what the fuck is happening for y’all.”
• Announces she’s switching parties to challenge her Republican Congressman in a primary to expose and disrupt gerrymandered politics.
• Key Quote:
  “We are not living in normal times. We cannot respond in a normal way. And people who look like me need to be leading this charge because, despite it all being somewhat unsafe, we are the safest.” (54:58)

6. Breaking the Two-Party Mold

(Maurice Mitchell: 57:13–64:10)

• Highlights voters’ disgust with “corruption” from both major parties and the need for authenticity, clarity, and a willingness to break form or brand.
• Working Families Party’s growth is driven by running independent, direct, unapologetic campaigns.
• Warns that “If you’re hanging onto improving the Democratic Party brand as the way that we defeat fascism, then you’re signing up to lose.”

7. Closing Thoughts

(Shaniqua: 64:23–65:37)

• Urges listeners to “do something”—get involved with direct service, advocacy, running for office, or organizing—because “that is why Crooked Media and Vote Save America and all of these organizations exist.”

Panel 2: The State and Future of the Democratic Party

(Segment starts: 68:27)

Featured Speakers

• Shaniqua McClendon (Vote Save America, Moderator)
• Ken Martin (Chair, Democratic National Committee)

1. What Is a Party Chair’s Real Job?

(69:24–72:13)

• Building permanent, durable organizing infrastructure nationally and locally.
• Historically, Dems have neglected local and long-term organizing in favor of “one cycle, one campaign” thinking.
• Candid about “want[ing] to pull my hair out,” but sees every day as a chance to remake the world.

2. Interpreting the 2025 Victories

(73:22–76:54)

• Tuesday’s elections (major wins in New York, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, etc.) validate a “blue wave” reality.
• Strategy: “We chip away ... one seat at a time.” Emphasis on state and local wins: flipping Virginia House seats, Georgia statewide wins, and breaking Republican supermajorities in deep red states.
• Through-line for winners: economic/U.S. affordability agenda.
• Key Quote:
  “No one should confuse unity with unanimity ... What you saw ... is that they ran on affordability. They ran on the sense that people were frustrated ... and needed a champion.” (74:38)

3. The Favorability Gap Dilemma

(76:54–80:44)

• Despite Dem victories, the Democratic Party’s favorability is at a low ebb—even below an unpopular Trump.
• Two main problems: transactional, election-only engagement, and lack of perceived delivery on promises.
• Explains historic perception flip: GOP seen as party of working class by majority. “The only two groups we overperformed with in the presidential contest last year: college-educated voters and wealthy households. That’s not who we are...”
• Key Quote:
  “If you are not willing in this moment to fight like hell for the things you believe in, do you really believe in them at all?” (80:44)

4. Moving from Sympathy to Empathy, from Policy to Lived Reality

(82:57–84:06)

• Calls for candidates/leaders who are directly connected to the experiences of the economically struggling.
• Echoes Congresswoman Pressley: “Those closest to pain should be closest to power.”
• Shares personal story of growing up with a single mom on government assistance.
• Key Quote:
  “It is shameful, shameful what this administration is doing ... I do this for very personal reasons ... What pisses me off is people who treat politics like a sport. People’s lives literally are shaped, shattered...” (84:11)

5. Winning on Affordability—But Must Not Get Complacent

(87:36–90:43)

• Acknowledges Dems’ prior messaging disconnect: touting macroeconomic data while everyday people struggled.
• Highlights 2025 swing back to Dems among Latino voters, independents, and young voters—but cautions against taking anyone for granted.
• “Tomorrow is the first day of the next election.”

6. The Democratic Message, Distilled

(91:23–93:12)

• “No matter where you’re from, no matter where you live, no matter who you love or who you are, every person in this country deserves an opportunity to get ahead, not just get by.”
• Braids in personal experience and Wellstone maxim: “We all do better when we all do better. The all matters here.”

7. Building Power from the Grassroots Up

(93:47–95:50)

• DNC now investing deeply in down-ballot races (school board/mayoral/county), not just federal.
• “Elections aren’t won in DC. They’re won in the states, on the ground, in local communities.”

8. Combating Disinformation and Working with Movements

(96:55–100:01)

• DNC now partners with movement orgs (Indivisible, etc.), using advanced social listening and AI tools to fight misinformation/disinformation in real time.
• Emphasizes that disengagement in 2024 (ten million Biden voters stayed home) was partly fueled by misinformation—now a focus area.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Kate Barr (52:08):
  “My daughter, every night before she goes to bed, worries that I’m going to get shot the next day. ... I am the safest human on this earth and I won’t get on an airplane to go out of the country. So that... That is bananas.”
• Ezra Levin (44:38):
  “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win... We’re one step from winning because they’re fighting us.”
• Maurice Mitchell (18:36):
  “The bottom 60 percent of Americans are struggling to make ends meet. That’s called the majority of fucking people in this country.”
• Ken Martin (93:00):
  “We all do better when we all do better. The all matters here, every single one of us matters. And everyone should be able to get ahead. It’s as simple as that.”

Takeaways & Action Items

• Organizing must be ongoing, personal, and rooted in daily realities—not just transactional asks around election days.
• Bold, risk-taking tactics may draw fire, but are essential in a system where the status quo is broken; new coalitions, candidacies (even crossing party lines), and direct service tactics are needed.
• Trust is rebuilt slowly—show up, listen, deliver; direct services not only meet needs but restore belief in collective action.
• Authoritarianism is real; courage and collaboration are non-negotiable.
• True movement success looks like not just electoral wins but sustained power and continued engagement post-victory.
• Democratic Party must return to its mission as party of the working/middle class, with empathy-driven messaging.
• Grassroots organizing and combating disinformation are now core DNC functions.
• Everyone—regardless of skills or resources—can do something. Get involved locally, support direct service work, join or build organizing groups, and keep pressure on power.

For organizers, volunteers, or simply anyone dispirited by American politics, this episode is a rousing call to action—a reminder that even in the hardest moments, democracy is a team effort, best built by the persistent, the creative, and the boldly hopeful.